Middle School Student ThreatMarch 21, 2018
Students, Parents, Staff, & Community Members,
All three recent threat incidents at the MS were resolved with admissions from the perpetrators.
= The bathroom writing suspect admitted to this action within 24 hours of the incident.
= The comment was admitted to immediately by that student last week.
= The google threat was admitted to by the suspect in the bathroom writing incident. It was admittedly this student who posted on his own google account rather than some unknown individual, as was initially suspected by law enforcement. With similar incidents of hacking threats occurring in schools and other details surrounding that particular incident it was definitely a legitimate initial suspicion.
(we appreciate the ongoing investigation by the Sheriff’s Dept. and that of the specialized unit and communications with google prior to this admission)
I am glad that these were resolved to alleviate these particular threats.
Students should know that the Wayne Cou. Sheriff's Dept. was 3 for 3 in these cases the past few weeks and I feel confident that they will discover the culprits in such situations. The consequences for their actions are severe, as is warranted. We pray this dissuades copycat behaviors. I appreciate the Sheriff Dept. collaboration and investigations into these matters.
While the situations stressed us all and created anxiety, fear, and tension we came through it together. We all agree there were many negatives with these situations as their always are. With that being said, there are always opportunities to learn, take a breath, and ask “what good, if any has come of this?”
The good that comes from these situations include:
= The strong school and Wayne County Sheriff’s Dept. collaboration
= Strong visibility on campus form the Wayne County Sheriff’s Dept.
= Conversations on school safety and security that have and will further improve the degree of safety and security of our students and staff
= Many positive discussions with students, staff, community, administrators, and our Northwestern Board of Education
= The ability to be aware of the needs and address these needs of the students who had made the threats and get them the support they need so they make better choices in the future. We have to remember that these were cries for help.
= Confidence in our School Administration and Sheriff Dept.
Moving forward there are always learning experiences that come with these situations that will only serve to further strengthen all aspects of any future situations and will hopefully help us be more vigilant and proactive in recognizing similar issues in the future.
As always, the schools appreciate the positive support of our students, staff, parents, community, Wayne County Sheriff’s Dept., and prayers throughout these stressful situations and into the future.
We will share a summary of the community survey on our website as well as in the next issue of The Northwestern and will share information as we move forward.
Jeffrey N. Layton
Superintendent